The Chinese company sending a turtle to space
China’s version of Elon Musk could launch reptile astronaut this month in precursor to manned missions that may cost as ‘little’ as 700,000 yuan
While Jeff Bezos’ space travel company Blue Origin – with two turtles on its coat of arms – unveiled new rockets last week, a Chinese company in Shenzhen is preparing to launch an actual turtle into near-space possibly as early as this month.
The reptile astronaut of Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi Science, who is called Taigong Gui, or “Space Turtle”, is currently awaiting permission to board the Traveller II Beta that is expected to be launched this month from a remote location in Inner Mongolia (內蒙古).
While the Amazon.com founder likes turtles in his company’s insignia because “slow is smooth and smooth is fast”, Hong Kong-listed Kuang-Chi Science said it chose a turtle because it has stable vital signs and symbolises longevity and luck.